Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $350.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Air Products and Chemicals traded as high as $332.43 and last traded at $330.94, with a volume of 145632 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $332.10.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.82.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 188,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $73.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.89.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.